Category Archives: Stem Cell Research

The high court declined to hear a final appeal, thus ending a bid to block NIH support for research using these cells By Meredith Wadman and Nature magazine The Supreme Court decision ensures continued government funding for embryonic stem cell research. Image: Flickr/Mark Fischer The US Supreme Court today ended an effort to shut down government support of human embryonic stem cell research, refusing to hear a case that challenged the legality of funding for the work by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The high courts refusal to consider an appeal in the case of Sherley v. Sebelius ends a more than 3-year-old effort by the plaintiffs, two adult stem cell researchers, to stop NIH backing of the work, which holds the promise of treatments for a variety of diseases, but which depends upon the destruction of days-old human embryos. As is its typical practice, the court did not give its reasons for declining the case. Embryonic stem cell researchers were jubilant. We couldn't be happier that this frivolous, but at the same time potentially devastating distraction is behind us, says Douglas Melton, the co-scientific director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But the lead plaintiff … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bernard Siegel, spokesperson for the Stem Cell Action Coalition and Executive Director of the Genetics Policy Institute (GPI), stated, The U.S. Supreme Court denied today the plaintiffs application to appeal the decision of the D.C. Court of Appeals, thereby ending Sherley v Sebelius in favor of the government and upholding federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. This is a major victory for scientifically and ethically responsible innovative research. With the cloud of this case lifted, researchers can now rest assured that the challenge to the NIH's 2009 guidelines for funding for embryonic stem cell research is over. Patients and their advocates can rejoice that this potentially lifesaving research can proceed at the federal level. But at the same time we must remain vigilant against threats at state and other policy-making levels. Siegel said, GPI filed amicus briefs in the United States District Court and in the Court of Appeals supporting the governments position. We are pleased to have made a contribution to the successful outcome of the case and are grateful to GPI's counsel, Neal Goldfarb of the law firm of Butzel Long Tighe Patton, PLLC in Washington, D.C. for his extraordinary contribution to the cause. … Continue reading →

STORY HIGHLIGHTS (CNN) -- The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a long-standing appeal from scientists who tried to block funding of stem cell research on human embryos. The brief order from the justices is a victory for supporters of federally funded testing to combat a range of diseases and illnesses. Federal courts had previously lifted an injunction on continued funding, and this latest high court action probably means the lawsuits will be ultimately dismissed. The field of embryonic stem cell research has been highly controversial, because in most cases, the research process involves destroying the embryo, typically four or five days old, after removing stem cells. These cells are blank and can become any cell in the body. Because of the destruction of embryos, most opponents believe this is a moral issue. Supporters of the research point to the potential for saving lives. Legislation passed in 1996 prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars in the creation or destruction of human embryos "for research purposes." Private money had been used to gather batches of the developing cells at U.S.-run labs. That congressional ban had been renewed annually. Stem cells vs. heart attacks The current administration had broken with the Bush White … Continue reading →

Should We Create Children Without Fathers? In a few years, having a child without a biological father may be possible for any woman who wants to go that route thanks to genetic engineering / stem cell research. By: videoScribble … Continue reading →

Hands On Series 17 Programme 6 (with subtitles/ without audio for copyright reasons) Journalist Michelle Hennessy spends the day living with a Deaf family, Sen looks at stem cell research that proposes a cure for deafness and asks how Ireland's Deaf community feels about the prospect. In Take 5, Eddie meets footballing legend and founder of the Deaf Scouts, Tim Grace. By: HandsOn3 … Continue reading →

A link has been discovered between stem cell factors in ovarian cancer which could help develop therapies, according to a new study. The research, carried out by Yale School of Medicine and published in Cell Cycle, identifies a key link between stem cell factors that fuel ovarian cancer's growth and patient prognosis. Lead author Yingqun Huang, MD, and her colleagues have demonstrated a connection between two concepts that are revolutionising the way cancer is treated. First, the 'cancer stem cell' idea suggests that at the heart of every tumour there is a small subset of difficult-to-identify tumour cells that fuel the growth of the bulk of the tumor. This concept predicts that ordinary therapies typically kill the bulk of tumor cells while leaving a rich environment for continued growth of the stem cell tumor population. The second concept, dubbed 'seed and soil', defines a critical role for the tumour cells' 'microenvironment', which is the special environment required for cancer cell growth and spread. "Both concepts have particular relevance for the treatment of adult solid tumours such as ovarian cancer, which has been notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat," said co-author Nita J. Maihle, M.D., professor in the Department of Obstetrics, … Continue reading →

Castle Crashers - #1 - Stem Cell Research Join Us here on CastOut as we venture beyond our kingdom to rescue some princesses. just another day as a Loyal knight, Ninja and Dub-step Tebbybear? Thanks Giroro. By: CastOutify … Continue reading →

South Park - Kenny Dies - Stem-Cell Research Cartman's trying to save Kenny's life...The scientist explains to him how Stem-Cell research works. By: 30AD420AM … Continue reading →

Posted: Friday, January 4, 2013, 12:25 PM THURSDAY, Jan. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Stem cell technology may one day give new life to tired immune cells so they can battle diseases such as HIV and cancer more effectively, two new studies suggest. Scientists in Japan used old immune T-cells and regenerated them into T-cells that multiplied in greater numbers, had longer lifespans and showed a greater ability to target diseased cells. The finding could lead to more effective immune therapies, the researchers said. Both reports were published in the Jan. 4 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell. "The system we established provides 'young and active' T-cells for adoptive immunotherapy against viral infection or cancers," study senior author Dr. Hiromitsu Nakauchi, of the University of Tokyo, said in a journal news release. In one study, researchers transformed mature T-cells from an HIV-infected patient into pluripotent stem cells, a type of stem cell that has the ability to differentiate into nearly any type of cell in the body. In a second study, researchers used T-cells from a patient with melanoma, a particularly deadly type of skin cancer. In both cases, the researchers helped the pluripotent stem cells differentiate back into T-cells. … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stem Cell Research Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;Cancer / Oncology Article Date: 04 Jan 2013 - 11:00 PST Current ratings for: Cancer-Killing Immune Cells Made From Stem Cells 4 (1 votes) 5 (1 votes) The researchers, from the RIKEN Research Centre for Allergy and Immunology in Yokohama, describe how they created cancer-specific killer T lymphocytes from iPSCs, in a paper published online on 3 January in the journal Cell Stem Cell. Hiroshi Kawamoto and colleagues started with mature T lymphocytes specific for a certain type of skin cancer and reprogrammed them into IPSCs with the help of "Yamanaka factors". The iPSCs cells then generated fully active, cancer-specific T lymphocytes. Yamanaka factors are named after Shinya Yamanaka, who with British scientist John B. Gurdon, won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells. Yamanaka discovered that treating adult skin cells with four pieces of DNA (the Yamanaka factors) makes them revert back to their pluripotent state, where they have the potential, almost like embryonic stem cells, to become virtually any cell in the body. Speaking about their breakthrough in making … Continue reading →